Here we go again. Sorry I didn’t take any pics to keep y’all entertained, so I’ll just have to try n dazzle y’all with some endless rambling.
Friday had me playing full on guide, and it’s also the first time I’ve had three grooowwwn men on me lil skiffer. With 700lb of arse onboard I really didn’t know what to expect, other than the worse. As it turned out, it really wasn’t that bad. My poor lil Merc struggled and worked harder than a one legged waitress at the I-Hop on Friday night, but somehow managed to get the job done.
If you’ve missed my previous post, the reasoning behind this trip is a friend of mined turned 50. Part of his birthday surprise from his wife was to fly his best friend/cousin in from OH. He loves to fish, so I took him out solo on Thursday and had a banner day. He’s now hooked on FL flats fishing. Having both of them on board was a blast. I’m just glad we had the flat all to ourselves, cause we cut up the entire time.
Condition wise. The tide was still plenty low, following the Super Beaver Moon, however I was still able to get us into the intended area, only having to exit the skiff once to push us over the hump. Skies were bluebird clear, with light winds early. Wednesday and Thursdays bite was phenomenal, and the amount of tailing reds was incredible, so I wasn’t entirely sure what Friday would bring, but was expecting a slow down in the action. Figuring there was no way the bite would be strong 3 days in a row. That theory proved to be 1/2 true. It was slower and the bigger reds weren’t as eager, but we still had plenty of action. They both slammed out multiple times with Red/Trout/Flounder. The flounder bite was surprising. They probably put 15 or on the boat between the two of em, with maybe 5 or so being good slot sized fish. So maybe enacting a season on them was a good one.
I did keep a fly rod loaded in the bucket on the platform with me, and managed two, (sightcasted) lower slot reds on the same ole purple black deceiver that I’ve been throwing lately.
Once the tide started rolling in, it again came in with a furry of grass. Not ready to call it quits, I ran us around the backside of the island hoping to avoid the mayhem of it. That trick worked, and we managed to fool a few more decent fish. Nothing spectacular, but we kept the net slimy and drags warm.
After 3 days of low tide abuse my boat looks like it just left Woodstock, so today is going to be spent cleaning and straightening out the gear, but it’s been well worth it, with Memories made, fish caught, and new stories tell. Unfortunately it’s back to swinging hammers and driving nails next week. Also, Hats off to you guys that do this stuff every day for a paycheck, it’s a helluva way to make a living, buts it’s also a helluva way to make living.
